Sheffield Wednesday: Hooper sets sights on Owls promotion

Buoyed after completing his £3 million switch last Friday, Hooper registered his fourth goal in five appearances against Reading to help the Owls clinch a 1-1 draw at the Madejski Stadium.

He said: “The club is going places. The squad is good and we are in the play-offs and that’s a good sign. Hopefully we can kick on in the league.”

The former Celtic forward is looking forward to the future, having agreed a three-and-a-half-year contract with the Hillsborough outfit last Friday.

“I’m delighted,” said Hooper who turns 28 this week. “It’s always nice to play and that’s why I had to get out of Norwich. I wanted to go on loan and play football.

“Now I’m finding my fitness and the goals are starting to come.”

Hooper’s strike took his tally to seven goals in 14 Owls appearances.

He said: “It was nice to score the first goal. We started off really well and played good football. We dominated the first 20 minutes.

“We needed a second for that cushion, but Reading got on top and we dug in for the point.

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“They are a top team and it’s hard place to come to. It was a hard second half. In the end, I think it was a good point.”

Head coach Carlos Carvalhal reckons Hooper will only get better.

“We are very happy that Gary belongs to us,” he said.

“He’s a quality player. We can feel that he’s happy with us and we feel we can improve the player.

“Gary scored his goal because we did good team work.

“I’m sure he and Fernando [Forestieri] would have done better had they trained during the week.

“They are important players to us.”